Attachment for flexible-shaft casings.



PATENTED NOV. 28, 1905.

A. U. PATOHEN. ATTACHMENT FOR FLEXIBLE SHAFT GASINGS.

APPLIUATION FILED JAN. 14, 1905.

1'7'NE55E5, B, d. 4%.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALVAI-I U. PATCHEN, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

ATTACHMENT'FOR FLEXIBLE-SHAFT CASINGS. i

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 28, 1905.

Applicationfiled January 14, 1905. Serial No. 241,162.

To all whom. it may concern.-

Beit known that], ALVAH U. PATCHEN, of Syracuse, in the county ofOnondaga, in the State of New York, have invented newand usefulImprovements in Attachments for Flexible-Shaft asings, of which thefollowing,

taken in connection with 'the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear,and exact description.

This invention relates to an attachment for flexible-shaft casings forpreventing sharp or abrupt bends or kinks in the shaft or casing at thejunction of the shaft with the coupling. These couplings are attached tothe ends of the casing and serve to hold the flexible shaft in operativerelation to the driving and driven elements and are therefore more orless rigid. The shafts and their ca..'ngs are, in the hands of theoperator, twisted and bent in all directions, and the strain is mostsevere at the junction of the casing with the rigid coupling sleeves orcollars, where the flexibility of both shaft and easing terminates andallows such shaft or casing to bend at a more or less sharp or abruptangle, thereby destroying the integrity of the casing at this junctionand frequently causing the shaft to break.

The object of my invention is to provide one or both of the collars orcouplings at the ends of the flexible shaft with an attachment orflexible support which embraces the flexible casing at points somedistance from the junction of the casing with the coupling and is moreor less resilient to allow the shaft to bend gradually, thereby avoidingshort kinks or sharp bends in the casing or its rotary shaft.

Another object is to produce a yielding support which'may be attached toor detached from the coupling and possess a resiliency or flexibilitywhich gradually increases from the coupling toward its free end-that is,the portion of the attachment most remote from the coupling is moreresilient or flexible than that part which is closer to the coupling.

Other objects and uses will appear in the following description.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of one end of a flexibleshaft and its flexible casing having a coupling-head andmy improvedflexible support attached thereto and em bracing the ad jacentportion ofthe flexible casing. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the detachedflexible support seen in Fig. 1 except that the loop or coil in theshorter spring arm or leg is omitted. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectionalview through the intermediate ringorcollar, showing a portion of thelonger spring-arm as passing loosely through an aperture in said ring. I

A represents a flexible shaft which is in.- closed by a flexible casingB, having one end secured to a metal coupling or sleeveb, by which thecasing may be attached to any suitable support for the driving or drivenelements. This coupling-section is shown as provided with a somewhatelongated cylindrical portion 5', and upon this cylindrical portion I)is fitted a metal collar 1, which is detachably secured in place by aset-screw 2. Secured to one end of this collar 1 are two spring-arms 3and 4, which extend beyond the cylindrical sleeve 7/ along the flexiblecasing B, the spring-arm 3 being shorter than and in this instancesubstantially half the length of the spring-arm 4, and to its free endis rigidly secured a second ring 5, which encircles the flexible casingB some distance from the adjacent end ofthecylindrieal sleeve 1). Theinterior diameter of this ring 5 is slightly greater than the diameterof the flexible casing B, so as to allow free sliding movement of oneupon the other as the shaft is bent or twisted. In order to allow forgreater flexibility of the spring-arm 3 and prevent its kinking andbuckling, I usually provide it with a coil or loop 6, which ispreferably'located near the collar 1 to relieve the strain at thispoint, and thereby prevent crystallization or breakage of the spring.This is not necessary, however, as both the spring-arms 3 and 4 betweenthe collars 1 and 5 are more or less bowedthatis,theportions of saidarms which are connected to the collar 5 are close together, while theirends which are attached to the collar 1 are separated some distanceapart, and their intermediate portions therefore diverge from the collar5 toward the collar 1, which in most instances allows ample flexibilityand prevents kinking or buckling of these spring.- arms.

The spring-arm 4 has a sliding connection with the ring 5 and ispreferably passed through an aperture 7 in one side of the ring adjacentto the junction of the adjacent arm of the ring 3 with said ring, whichpermits said ring 5 and spring-arm 4. to slide one upon the other as thearms 3 and 4 are bent in different directions by the bending of theflexible casing B and shaft A. This spring-arm t extends through theaperture 7 and some distance be yond the ring 5,and its free end isrigidly se cured to one side of a third ring 8, which also encircles theflexible shaft B somedistance from the ring 5, this distance in thisinstance being substantially the same as the distance between the ring 5and collar 1'.

It now appears that the ring 5 is connected to the collar 1 by twospring-arms 3 and 4, while a single wire or' springarm extends betweenthe rings 5 and 8, and therefore the flexibility or resiliency of theattachment between the rings 5 and 8 is greater than it is between therings 5 and 1; but owing to the fact that the spring-wires 3 and 4 arebrought closer together at their junctions with the ring 5 than at theirjunctions with the collar 1 the resiliency of the two arms' near thering 5 is greater than it is at the ring 1, this resiliency graduallyincreasing from the ring 5 to the collar 1 by reason of the divergenceof the spring-arms 3 and 4. It therefore follows that the resiliency ofthe support as a whole gradually diminishes from the ring 8 to thecollar 1. This ring '8 is of slightly greater interior diameter than theripg 5 and-casing B in order to provide: for a greater flexibility ofthis end of the support and for the consequent greater sliding action ofthering- 8 and easing B one upon the other. It is now evident that whenthe free end of the flexible shaft and easing are bent in any directionthe portion of the yielding support, as the springwire 4 between therings 5 and 8, is the first to yield or conform to the bend in theflexible shaft-casing by reason of its greater re: siliency and that asthe shaft-casing continues to bend in the same direction this resiliencyis transmitted to the portions of the spring arms or wires 3 and 4between the ring 5 and collar 1, thereby preventing short kinks or sharpbends in the flexible casing or shaft and prolonging the life of theseparts.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patout, is

1. In combination with a flexible-shaft casing and coupling-sectionsecured thereto,a

collar secured to the coupling-section, spring-- ing, and acoupling-section secured thereto, a

collar attached to the coupling-section, springarms secured to andconverging from the collar and extending along one side of the casingand a ring on each of the spring-armsand embracing the casing. I

3. In combination with aflexible-shaft casing, and a coupling-sectionsecured thereto, a collar attached to the coupling section, a spring-armsecured to the collar and extending along one side of the casing, a ringon said spring-arm and embracing the casing,

and a second ring loosely connected to the spring-arm and embracing thecasing between the first-named ring and collar.

4. In combination with afiexible-shat't casing and a coupling-sectionsecured thereto, a collar attached to the couplingsection, a spring-armsecured at one end to the collar, and two rings mounted on thespring-arm at different distances from the collar and encircling theshaft-casing.

5. In combination with aflexible-sha'ft casing and a coupling-sectionsecured thereto, a collar attached to the coi'ipling-section, a ringencircling the casing and a spring-arm having one end connected to thering and its other end secured to the collar, said spring-arm beingprovided with'a coil or loop between the collar and ring to relieve thestrain on the spring at its junction with the collar.

6. An attachment for flexible-shaft casings comprising twospring-armsofunequal lengths and means for clamping them at one end to the casing,and separate devices on their opposite ends embracing the casing.

7. An attachment for flexible-shaft casings comprising a collar and twospring-arms projecting therefrom, and separate devices one on eachspring embracing the casing.

8. An attachment for flexible-shaft casings comprising two springarms,means rigidly connecting said arms, additional means rigidly secured toone spring-arm and loosely connected to the other spring-arm, and a ringon one of the spring-arms embracing the casing.

.9. In combination with the flexible case and a fixed collar, separaterings encircling the flexible casing and separate spring-arms secured tothe collar, each spring-arm having one end secured to one of the rings.

10. In combination .with a flexible-shaft case and a collar, aspring-arm having one end secured to the collar and its other endextending along the flexible case, a ring or collar encircling the case,a second-spring secured to the collar and ofless length than thefirst-named spring, a ring on the second spring having loose connectionwith the flexible casing, and also with the first-named spring.

ingscomprising a collar, spring-arms of unequal length attached atoneend to the collar, a ring attached to the other end of the longerspring, and" a second ring attached to the ALVAH U.-PATCHEN.-

Witnesses:

H. E. Cease,

HOWARD P. DENISON.

11. An attachment for flexible-shaft casshorter spring and having anaperture through 4

